Thursday, December 26, 2013

Cloud storage is a revolution in the internet where we can pile up large amounts of our data with no trouble. But when sending and receiving large file through email, the cloud storage giants Dropbox and Google Drive can pose issues sometimes. And when we want to send files to someone quickly, email is a far better option compared to Google Drive and other services. Moreover, we can’t mail large files as ISPs enforces with strict file upload limit. That’s why we have compression tools for reducing file size without losing your significant data.

The compression softwares will include strong techniques for shrinking the file size effectively regardless of their size. Besides, the risk of losing your important data is zero. So, from any perspective these tools will get your job done without difficulty.

The popular compression applications such as WinRAR or WinZip are commercial, but worth buying them. If not, you can dig up free alternatives out in the market which are free and open source that perform almost the same task as WinRAR or WinZip, but with different compression techniques. I’ve listed some free alternatives for the paid compression applications. Let’s see them briefly.

7-Zip is an open-source application with GNU LGPL license featuring a high compression ratio with LZMA and LZMA2 compression. It is regarded as the best free alternative to WinRAR and other commercial applications despite its not-so-attractive interface. 7-Zip includes its own compression format 7z along with other formats such as .ZIP, .TAR, .XZ, .BZIP2, GZIP2, WIM, CAB, FAT, and many more. The compression ratio is 2-10% better than WinZip and PKZip.

A strong AES-256 encryption is followed in 7z and ZIP formats with self-extracting capability for 7z format. It integrates with Windows Shell together with a powerful file manager and a command line version.

IZArc is a free file compression utility supporting huge list of archive formats compared to other free compression tools. The interface is easy-to-use and fresh with drag-and-drop facility from Windows Explorer. You can create multiple archives spanning disks, self-extracting archives, repair damaged zip archives, convert one archive type to another, view and write comments and many more. With IZArc, you can open CD image files like ISO, BIN, CDI and NRG.

When you open archives, it checks for viruses using Anti-Virus scanner. Your files are archived using 256-bit AES encryption which can also be performed faster using the Windows Explorer menu integrated into Windows.

PeaZip is a free zip files utility and free Rar files extractor to perform file compression, conversion, split, encryption, secure data deletion. Over 150+ formats are supported. The user interface is modern with drag & drop facility, context menu integration, and high compression ratio. PeaZip includes features strong encryption, two factor authentication, encrypted password manager and secure deletion to safeguard the privacy of your data. It can also find duplicates, backup saved scripts, split and join files and much more. It is free and open-source application. You can download 32-bit, 64-bit, portable and Linux versions for free from its official site.

This is a very powerful Zip Archiver from Hamster which supports ZIP, WinZip, 7zip, WinRAR and other compression formats. Hamster Free Zip Archiver gets fewer points over other archivers with its new enhanced zip algorithm for compression, which cuts down the time required to create an archive with more than 2-fold. It has full multi-core processor support with full integration with Windows operating system.

The multi-core processor has high speed with optimum compression and productivity settings over others. It has the most comfortable settings for users to use email, Rapidshare, CD, DVD, etc.

A free WinZip alternative with new 2013 Black Hole 10X compression technology, ZipItFree archives your files with higher compression ratio. You can create, open and extract zip, rar, Gzip, BZip, Cab, Jar, Lha, Tar, Tar Bzip, Tar Gzip, and other formats. You can zip your files and e-mail it with just a single click. It can protect your important files with a password. It has ZIP2.0 high secure AES encryption along with multiple archive integrity verification. The user interface is flexible where you can even comment your ZIP archives. You can even split large zip files through “Split Archive” feature.

Apart from the above free compression tools, there are some utilities like Universal Extractor which can extract any archive that can be useful sometimes when you don’t know what type of archive format is received through email. Finally, the free compression tools holds strong when you consider excellent features such as secure deletion, strong encryption, and splitting archives which are present only in paid compression tools.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

For complete media playback and conversion, you need to have a set of codecs installed in your PC. Most media players include all compression and file types, the codec pack is essential when encoding and/or decoding video or audio data from files, streams and broadcasts. When Windows Media Player is concerned, it doesn’t have enough video and audio file formats and compression types needed to play every media file. That is when Media Player Codec Pack comes into act.

“Media Player Codec Pack” is one of the most popular and effective codec package which supports almost every compression and file type used by current video and audio files. You don’t require any additional software to play with any multimedia file. The package offers advanced settings for experts to customize accordingly.

Media Player Codec Pack offers two types of installation options – Easy and Expert (Detailed). It is recommended to choose ‘Detailed’ installation as ‘Easy’ one will install third-party applications. It empowers you to select components that are to be deployed on your computer.

Media Player Codec Pack 4.2.9 is the newest version which has minor updates to its release such as updated DXVA & Intel Quick Sync GPU/graphics card database, ffdshow, LAV filters, AC3filter, Haali splitter, xy-VSFilter, CDXA Reader and their x64 versions to the latest ones.

The latest version is compatible with Windows 8, 7, XP, Vista, 2000, 2003, and 2008, whereas you need to have Microsoft Windows Media Player 9 or above and any multimedia player with DirectShow compatible.

The package identifies the best proof tested settings with supplementary options for CPU, GPU, and DXVA compatibility. During installation, users are allowed to set audio output from basic 2.2 stereo to 7.1 channel output. As far as media formats are concerned, the protected formats may require a specific media player for playback.

If you are a fan of Windows Media Player and wants to play every media file on it, Media Player Codec Pack is a must-have codec collection that does its job exceedingly well. You can download the latest version of Media Player Code Pack for free which is about just 24MB size.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

To ensure smooth operation, computers require maintenance at regular intervals and you need a strong management and optimization tool. Ashampoo WinOptimizer 10 is a computer maintenance and virtual technician to optimize and protect your PC. It aims at increasing your computer performance with its useful tools that will make your PC like a brand new one. It makes your PC faster and more receptive, protects your private data, cleans unwanted files/entries, fix common Windows errors, improves system stability, and accomplish high performance.

Ashampoo WinOptimizer 10 is designed and developed by a German-based computer software company called Ashampoo GmbH & Co. KG. The company is best known for Ashampoo Burning Studio, one of the best burning tools available in the market. Ashampoo was founded by Rolf Hilchner in 1999.

The newest version Ashampoo WinOptimizer 10.3 has few enhancements such as Improved Windows 8.1 support, Improved Opera 17 support, New arrange function for safe cookies, and fixed some trivial problems. It has also added a new Halloween skin for the interface. A 40-day trial version is available for download, where you have to register via email after the first 10 days are completed. To run this program, you need to have full administrative rights on your computer.

New Features:

Redesigned User Interface with maximum ease of use with user-defined favorites.

Enhanced Windows 8/8.1 support for maximum compatibility.

[REVISED] Task Scheduler

[NEW] Duplicate Finder

[NEW] Link Checker

[NEW] Font Manager

[NEW] Restore Point Manager

[IMPROVED] File Wiper

[IMPROVED] Drive Cleaner

[IMPROVED] Registry Optimizer

[IMPROVED] Internet Cleaner

Ashampoo WinOptimizer 10’s user interface is user-friendly with five important sections which include Overview, Modules, Favorites, Backups and Statistics. The ‘Overview’ section provides a single-click fix button – “Fix now” for cleaning, optimizing and protecting your PC, with the number of issues found. In ‘Modules’ section, there are categories and functions for maintaining, improving performance, customizing windows, analyzing system, and other general tools. In ‘Favorites’ section, the frequently used modules are automatically listed by the system, where you can add/remove favorites.

Analyzing Your System:

Ashampoo WinOptimizer 10 has six tools for analyzing your system. You can retrieve detailed information on your PC’s software and hardware specs via “System Information” tool. The “Disk Space Explorer” analyzes your hard disk space for errors. You can also analyze your hard disk’s S.M.A.R.T. data and conclude the health status and its reliability. You can measure machine’s performance and compare with others through “System Benchmark” and you could detect defective files on your hard disk and recover them using “Disk Doctor” tools. The “Font Manager” removes installed system fonts.

Finally, Ashampoo WinOptimizer 10 is definitely worth trying if you are searching for strong system maintenance and optimizing tool. You can purchase the full version license for $39.99 gives you unlimited maintenance and protection or upgrade your existing Ashampoo WinOptimizer to the latest for just $11.99.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Ranks at #2 in media players, GOM Media Player is capable of fulfilling all your playback needs with built-in media codec support, advanced features, Codec Finder service, and extreme customizability. GOM Media Player is absolutely a free audio and video player to download and use. It supports a wide range of file formats such as AVI, DAT, DivX, WMV, ASF, MPEG and lot more. The pain of finding and installing separate codecs is gone with built-in codec and Codec Finder services. You can even play incomplete or damaged video files/locked or partially downloaded files with GOM Media Player.

GOM Media Player (Gretech Online Movie Player) installs on the latest Windows 8 and its predecessors. It is developed by South Korean company called Gretech Corporation, with the initial release happened to be on January 7, 2003. It supports popular languages such as English, Russian, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese. GOM Media Player is freeware and ad-supported.

The latest version GOM Media Player 2.2.53.5169 has a lot of modern features such as,

[Improved] File Associations window for Windows 8 and other miscellaneous corrections and fixes.

The installation is customary with an optional setup process to optimize the initial use based on sound and monitor setup. The default window size would be 4:3 with an orange, black, and silver, that looks like a Halloween theme. The playback tools are situated on the bottom left corner, and control panels for organizing your media content are located on the contrary side. You have an optional integrated upsell ticked for linking users to any GOM’s products or video content, which can be removed easily by changing to another skin.

You can set custom hot keys and synchronize remote iOS and Android devices to control the media player over Wi-Fi. GOM Media Player adjusts accordingly and tweaks your picture settings incrementally during live play.

Key Features:

Supports different media formats such as AVI, MPEG, MPG, DAT, WMV, ASF, ASX, DVD and other popular file formats.

Codec Finder – GOM media player will automatically find the right codec for your videos and download them without requiring you to install separate codecs.

Play Damaged AVI Files – Has the ability to play AVI files that have broken index or if it’s not completely downloaded.

Great Subtitle Support – GOM player supports SRT, SUB, RT, SMI files for subtitle, where you can customize the location, size, resolution, font, margin, and others.

Own Multimedia Playlist – You can create your own convenient playlist as M3U, PLS, ASX formats, as well as import/edit different media formats on that playlist.

Burst Capture feature – You can take continuous screenshots up to 999 shots of your video directly from GOM Player.

Advanced Features:

Customize Brightness

Contrast and Saturation

Sharpen and Add Noise to Your Video

Audio Equalizer

A-B Repeat feature

Fast Forward/Rewind a few seconds

Compared to VLC Player and other media players, GOM Media Player also has pros and cons, but its core strength is its ability to find codecs and playing effectively than other players. GOM Media Player can effortlessly become the best audio and video player for many users. You can download GOM Media Player 2.2, the latest version from its official website or from below download link.
Download

Monday, December 2, 2013

AVG Internet Security 2014, the latest edition of internet security tool from AVG (Anti-Virus Guard) offers best virus protection with its new identity features to protect your personal data. It is an award-winning antivirus which safeguards your privacy by detecting and removing viruses & spyware without compromising PC’s performance. It provides multi-layered protection for online browsing and transactions. The latest threat information is collected using AVG’s Protective Cloud Technology and Community Protection Network, where you could browse and download stuff from internet without worries.

AVG Internet Security 2014 works beyond simply removing viruses on your PC by chunking infected links when you browse, checking files before you download, and aiding protect your personal data from hackers and other intruders. Not only protection, AVG’s new internet security tool also ensures your PC’s performance doesn’t go down by reducing scan times, stopping notifications while you are working.

A 30-day free trial is available for download on AVG’s official website, where you can purchase the full version for $43.99 or 1299.00 INR. You can purchase for 1 yr or 2 yr subscription according to the number of PCs you have. You can also download other AVG security products such as AVG PC TuneUp, AVG PrivacyFix, etc.

Interface and Installation:

AVG Internet Security 2014 works more on streamlined security experience adopting and renovating the modern UI movement. As the tool is fully compatible with the Windows 8 operating system, the UI is also touch compatible and looks similar to “Metro” design. The main interface shows you the current status of the computer, web browsing, identity, emails, and firewall. The “Fix Performance” button can repair most of the computer’s performance issues such as registry errors, junk files, fragmentation, broken shortcuts, etc. easily. You get four Scan Options for inspecting the computer which includes Manage scheduled scans, Scan whole computer, Scan specific files or folders, and Scan computer for rootkits.

The installation still offers a security toolbar which does include useful security options like Do Not Track, which is also available as a standalone version for free on Firefox and Google Chrome. So, you can download the extension from their respective stores instead of installing the toolbar.

Encrypted Data Safe - Stores all your significant and valuable documents, photos, videos and other files into a password-protected virtual disk on your PC by encrypting them. With purchased AVG IS 2014, you can have as many Data Safes as you wish to.

Do Not Track – Comes with AVG Security Toolbar which identifies which websites are tracking i.e. collecting data on your online activities and allows only after your authorization. It works as a plug-in for Firefox, Chrome and IE.

Wi-Fi Guard – Blocks unknown and suspicious wireless network points, especially access points used by hackers and alerts you before you connect.

Apart from the above features, AVG Internet Security 2014 also fixes performance issues related to your PC via AVG Advisor, AVG Auto-Fix and Auto-Updates. You get the ultimate video-viewing experience via AVG Accelerator, maximizing connection speeds and deliver faster and smoother video streaming on sites like YouTube. You also get a 24x7 free phone support, 365 days a year.

After 30-day trial period you should buy the full version to get unlimited protection. Coming to the performance, the detection rates are improved and the scanning speeds are rapid. The privacy tools are robust detecting malware efficiently than before. For those who actively share their machine with other users, AVG Internet Security 2014 will be most useful. Download